


Containment Breach

by Moggiye20



Series: Warning Shot [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Vampire, Alternate Universe - Werewolf, F/F, F/M, Implied Mpreg, Luche hates clothes, Lucians are prudes, M/M, Werewolf Courting, look at that rating, oblivious to social cues!Cor, smh at all this plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-10 23:25:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18418052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moggiye20/pseuds/Moggiye20
Summary: After losing their home, Nyx's pack drags themselves together to form a strike force for the King. Luche likes it cause it means they can shed those nasty fake furs Lucians insist they wear. Then the Marshal joins one of their missions and everything goes down hill.





	Containment Breach

**Author's Note:**

  * For [notavodkashot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/notavodkashot/gifts).



> HAHAHAHAHAHAH This was suppose to be smutty smut birthday fic about fangs. Instructions unclear. Kukri stuck in a dropship. That aside I do want to thank [ anruiukimi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/anruiukimi/pseuds/anruiukimi),  
> [TigerNightCat ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerNightCat/pseuds/TigerNightCat), and my hubby  
> [zulu-victor](https://www.pillowfort.io/ZVA-RedInk) for cheering me on, you guys rock!

If there was one thing Nyx hated about being an immortal creature, was that contrary to Lucian horror films, the feeling of loss never really got easier every time it happened. He never felt the urge to stray far from Galahd in his two hundred and fifty years of living. Nor did he make any effort to keeping an ear out for the growing conflict surrounding their lands, so when the Imperial cruisers appeared in the dead of the night and began attacking, Nyx was surprised but quick to take up arms with his fellow brethren. 

While they might have had supernatural strength, it did little to push back the unending waves of MTs getting dropped in day and night steadily wiping one village after another off the islands.

Nyx was sure they’d have the upper hand when the prince of Lucis arrived welding his magic (that tickled Nyx’s senses every time the man launched lightning at the MTs). And it seemed like the case, they had decimated the swarms of MTs to the shoreline that week, and then they were treated to one of Nilfheim’s lab grown monsters. A huge red creature had been released into the ocean by drop ships but was soon upon them, it’s roar loud enough to rattle Nyx’s bones. It raised it’s arms and drove it’s claws into the sandy beach. For a moment anyone not fighting straggling MTs stood transfixed in confusion until Nyx saw Prince Regis’ eyes widen. 

“ _ RUN!! _ ” There was a rumbling and it’s claws reappeared as tentacles from the sand, grabbing the nearest Galahdians and tossing them into the swarms of ahriman that had taken an interest in the fighting.

The beast destroyed anything and anyone who got in its way. Nyx watched, anger in his eyes as the boat they were on took him and survivors away as they beast laid waste to his home before moving on to another island.

“We’ll destroy the Nifs and get our homes back,” Nyx said firmly, when Prince Regis approached him later, stalling the Lucian from offering useless apologies.

Arriving in Insomnia, Nyx had his refugee status and accomodations sorted out and it wasn’t until he stopped moving and allowed himself to take stock of his situation that he was horrified to discover his pack had been nearly wiped out, at least as far as he was aware. He tried to take comfort in the fact his friends Libertus and Crowe had made it, but they were babies not even in their fifties yet. Their clans had been brought in when Nyx celebrated his 200th birthday, to expand Galahad’s territory.  _ Peacefully _ . 

Knowing holding onto the past would prevent him from marching onward, Nyx focused on helping his small community find their footing in the vast noisy crown city of Lucis. The large green spaces eased Nyx’s crawling skin, but only just. He so dearly missed the pastures he was used to running through on all fours, not a care in the world.

A year after relocation, Nyx woke to tasting tension and curiosity in the air. Leaving his tiny apartment, he found Libertus and Luche standing with a small crowd of folks reading a poster that had been stapled to the news board. “Morning, what’s going on?”

Libertus snorted. “His Majesty wants to assemble a strike force. Lookin’ for volunteers from Galahd and Tenebrae.”

“That’s specific,” Nyx commented, “Why those two regions?” He knew the answer at least for them, after all it wasn’t subtle when Libertus ripped the throat out of a charging behemoth before the very eyes of His Majesty.

“Rumours are circulating it’s because of our close ties to the land and the gods,” Luche said, his lip curled in disdain. Luche was one of the few who hadn’t acclimatized to their new surroundings. He seldom left the district because he was fed up with how prudish the Lucians were about clothing. He hated them and could be often found wandering the markets naked. Nyx sympathized with the man, the clothing donated was itchy and smelled terrible. 

“Well a strike force sounds like it would get more action than the Crownsguard,” Nyx said, creeping closer to read the poster. 

“You gonna join?” Libertus asked.

Nyx shrugged. “Beats trying to pickle my liver. You?”

Libertus had a scowl on his face but he nodded. “Might as well. They won’t let me open the bar up without getting a food permit, liquor license, a business license, and passing an inspection from the health department. Utter bullshit, I’m beginning to suspect these pricks get off to paperwork.” 

The men cackled as Crowe approached with Pelna in tow. “The hell are you puppies giggling at?” 

Nyx put an arm around Libertus’ shoulders. “Lucian mating habits with paper.”

“Gross.” Pelna wrinkled his nose.

 “Men,” Crowe sniffed. She glanced at the poster. “You idiots joining this impending disaster?”

Nyx grinned. “And kick some imperial ass? As if we’d pass up the chance.”

 

~~~~

 

Nyx was curious about who would be leading their little rag tag group. Luche and Tredd were murmuring excitedly when Titus Drautos had been chosen. They loved his stern approach. Nyx not so much. There was something… off… about the man, ever since he had went on a reconnaissance mission back in Galahd and hadn’t returned for three years. He was the sole survivor of that mission but the man’s scent was closed off. Like he had wrapped himself up in scent dampening blankets or something. Shaking his head, he set the issue aside. He knew where he stood. He just hoped Drautos was on the same page.

Once everyone who signed up was assembled at the Citadel, the king approached them with a speech about their bravery and gave thanks for volunteering before he began gracing each of them with his magic. Nyx couldn’t help but let his eyes wander around the throne room, taking note of the ‘guards posted at each door. The man standing at the stairs to the throne itself caught his interest the most.

Nyx sniffed trying to scent him out, only to be blocked by King Regis (literally). The king's magic settled over his shoulders like a comfortable cloak. When Nyx looked back to where the mystery man was standing, he was gone. 

“Now, Captain Drautos will get your measurements for your uniforms.” King Regis said, clapping his hands.

Drautos bowed as Regis and his stern shield, Amicitia, left. Turning, Drautos stared Luche down, whose lip was curled in disgust at the prospect of a blasted uniform. “The uniforms are being tailored from the finest behemoth hide. In the meantime, while we have people going in to be fitted, the rest of you are going to learn how to use your new abilities.”

Drautos was relentless with his drills. So much so, Nyx was secretly relieved to get a breather when he was called aside to be measured.

The tailor was measuring his chest when Nyx saw the mystery man walk by, a scowl on his face. The woman who was writing his measurements down quirked an eyebrow. “Something catch your eye, Glaive?” 

Nyx dragged his eyes to her, confusion on his face before he remembered that was what he was now. A Kingsglaive. “That man, short hair, katana, is he the king’s second bodyguard?” 

The tailor snorted. “46 bust. Him? Staff around here call him his immortal puppy, follows the king and does whatever he tells him. Fucking adorable.”

“Don’t let the Marshal hear you call him that,” the woman warned, scribbling the number down. “Marshal Cor Leonis, head of the Crownsguard. Well technically second in command to Lord Amicitia. Why do you ask, seen him before?”

“Not before today,” Nyx muttered, distractedly. Their words had his his curiosity piqued. Sadly due to his lack of interest in travelling beyond their borders, Nyx was unaware of other packs in Eos, surely they existed though, right?

 

~~~~

 

Pelna laughed, serving Nyx a plate of spicy meat later that evening. “We used to be spread out across the lands, but illness started wiping out the tribes close to human civilization, which is why so many packs made the pilgrimage to Galahd, it’s the most remote from humans thanks be to Ramuh.”

Nyx dearly loved Pelna. He was still a teen with a foot into manhood in the eyes of their people, but he had a wealth of knowledge about their history, dating back centuries. Which was great since Nyx was fairly certain, even with the new influx of refugees from the area, no one thought to bring their history books.

“Humans are diseased, more at 11,” Luche said drily, tearing into the raw steak Libertus had made for them.

Pelna sat with Crowe. “Well, there’s no concrete evidence the Black Plague came from them but it’s pretty suspect that everyone who lived in Galahd and moved to Galahd never got sick.”

“But does that mean there are packs out there who never travelled to Galahd?” Nyx pressed.

Pelna shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Why the questions?”

“Not sure, but I’ll let you know when I do,” Nyx said.

 

~~~~

 

Being part of the Glaives gave Nyx a sense of purpose he wasn’t aware he was missing until they went on their first mission. The space within the walls to transform and let loose was too small and they didn’t want to risk the humans knowing about them (the King and his entourage aside). Beyond the wall though, that was entirely different. Being cooped up within the wall for so long had them bringing down the imperial base west of Lestallum within a matter of hours. Nyx and Tredd were covered in blood and gore from tearing into a behemoth that had tried to charge at their ranks. 

They ambled over the rest of their team as Crowe and Pelna burned the place down, neither man making an effort to transform back to two legs. The others didn’t seem to have any interest in changing either. They headed down to the nearest haven which was fortunately next to a stream so they could wash up. Nyx was the last to wash up and returned to see Crowe getting very handsy with a flustered looking Pelna. 

He allowed Tredd to pull him into the mess of limbs that was made of him, Axis, Luche, and Sonitus.

For a brief moment Nyx could forget where they were and pretend it was just another night under the Galahdian stars.

 

~~~~

 

The routine was easy to settle into. Train within the walls of the city and pretend to be human outside their district. Then shift and destroy when they were deployed beyond the wall. After their third deployment, Nyx was delighted to see Crowe and Pelna had decided to take their post battle fucking seriously, if the ring of bruises scabbed teeth marks on their respective shoulders were anything to go by. 

“You have my blessing,” Nyx said during their weekly dinners. “But if you hurt him I’ll tear your throat out.” 

Pelna sputtered as Crowe and Nyx stared each other down. “What, ah Nyx-!” 

Libertus patted the brunet on the shoulder. “You’re his baby brother, He's gotta protect your virtue.”

Crowe smiled sweetly and patted Nyx’s hand. “It’s only harm if he uses his safe word.” 

“ _ Damnit Crowe! _ ”

 

~~~~

 

They were three years into their new roles when Cor the Immortal decided to join them on a mission.

“Marshal,” Nyx greeted him as they loaded the vans up. “What brings you down here?” He blinked when Cor tossed a bag in with their gear. 

“New reports just came in a half hour ago, they’ve brought in a beast similar to the one that ruined Galahd to guard the outpost. Mission is still a go but you’ll need extra back up,” Cor said, giving him a file before getting into the front seat of the van.

“Er, yes sir,” Nyx said, quickly flipping through the file. Size wise the thing was built like a brick shithouse, not lean like the red beast. He got into the back of the van with a frown as he studied the images and read the observations their scout made.

“Couple changes in the plan,” he said when everyone joined him inside the van. He flipped the file open to show them the massive green monster. “Seems like the Empire is catching on to our tactics.” 

Luche peered at the photo. “We could always reenact that old tale of Amadi and the Archean.”

Nyx snorted. “Wouldn’t get close enough for that. ‘Long range ballistics and a penchant for stomping on things that move too close to it’,” he read out loud.

The van was quiet for a moment before Pelna piped up. “Actually, Amadi and the Archean could work.” He floundered a little when all eyes were on him, but he pressed on. “The cables the dropships use, I mean they brought that red daemon in with what ten of them? Steal the cables, trip the beastie and have it land into a face full of explosives.”

“Mmm, I love it when you talk dirty, baby,” Crowe purred, leaning into her blushing mate.

“Alright, everyone in favour of Operation Trip Hazard say ‘aye’,” Nyx said, smirking at the groans he received. Despite their complaints on the name, everyone agreed. “Lovely, so team one will be in charge of stealing and setting up the cables, team two will be distraction-- Hush Libs, you’re great at that-- and the Marshal and I will setup the charges. Questions?”

“ _ We still getting two weeks off after we get out of the hospital? _ ” Axis questioned over the comms from where he was driving the second van.

Nyx laughed. “Wishful thinking.”

 

\-------

 

It wasn’t until Nyx was running with a large crate of C-4 with Cor clearing the way to the sudden realization of who he was with hit him. Like a smack from a cerberus monster. The crate was easily over a thousand pounds packed and there was no way the Marshal didn’t see that, so there was no way Nyx could pretend it was light. Fucking--

“Ulric!” 

He blinked at Cor who was throwing a frown at him as he peered around the burning corpse of a downed MA-X. “Uh...”

“Let’s go! Have your freak out later!” 

Nyx huffed as he followed after him. “Yeah ok, cause that’s totally how that works.” MTs took notice of their position and began firing on them. Nyx grunted as he took a bullet to the leg but continued working on getting the bricks of C-4 spread out and wired to the detonator. He took two more bullets shielding the C-4 from the morons firing at him. The ground shook beneath him as he heard Libertus and Crowe’s yelling getting closer.

“Area is cleared, fall back!” Cor yelled, throwing Nyx’s arm over his shoulder and hauling ass to the rendezvous point beyond the projected blast radius.

“ _ Cables are secure, Team Two, bring him in! _ ” Pelna’s voice crackled over the comms.

“You know, reasonable people collect buttons not bullets, Ulric,” Luche said, when he and the rest of team two arrived at the rendezvous point where the vans had been parked. 

Nyx’s grin was more of a grimace as he felt his body force the metal out, rather grateful he had the uniform to hide what was happening from the Marshal. Though in a (feeble) attempt to keep up appearances, Pelna hurried over and pulled a field kit from his utility belt and began fussing over his wound. “Tis but a flesh wound,” he coughed, blood splattering over his chin. Getting a bullet lodged in your lung was the worst, he decided.

“Idiot,” Pelna grumbled.

“You sound like Crowe,” Nyx slurred, dazed from the blood loss and onset shock, “Been hanging off her kn--”

“ _ Warp Strike inbound, watch out! _ ” Six blades lodged themselves alongside the walls of the vans and team one arrived. Or at least most of team one arrived.

Pelna’s face paled when he realised Crowe and Libertus were missing. “Crowe? Crowe where the hell are you?!” He dropped a roll of gauze onto Nyx’s chest and ran to the edge of the cliff overlooking the military outpost.

“ _ Coming, coming! _ ” The Glaives and Cor watched transfixed as the green weapon’s chest slowly powered up. Ahead of it were Libertus and Crowe who were hobbling. As it tried to take another step, the cables Team One had wrapped around the buildings pulled taut. Libertus and Crowe disappeared in a shower of blue sparks as the weapon fired a laser shot while it went down, igniting the C-4.

Even as far away as they were, the shockwave sent the Glaives back into the vans. Nyx groaned, shoving Luche off him where the man had landed on him. “Everyone make it?” The group made various noises and their comms crackled.

“ _ Shockwave knocked us into that lake we drove by on our way up here, but we lived, _ ” Libertus said. “ _ The fall shattered my leg though. _ ”

“Always with the excuses,” Tredd grumbled, getting to his feet. “Get your lazy ass up here, Ostium.”

The two bickered over the comms as Axis and Luche checked the vehicles to make sure they were good to be used.

“Uh, Nyx, how much C-4 did you use?” Pelna asked.

“Hm? All of it, why...uh, woah.” As the dust settled some, the Glaives could see the upper torso of the weapon was completely gone. And the outpost was in shambles.

“You meteror’d the hell out of them, nice work, Ulric!” Luche cackled, clapping Nyx on the back. 

“By the Gods man, I said half a case of C-4 for the ambush!” Pelna smacked his arm.

“Well, hey mission accomplished and good job not dying, everyone!” Nyx said sheepishly. While everyone got into the vans. Nyx discreetly coughed and spat a bullet out. He flinched when he stood up and found Cor standing before him, expression unreadable.

“Good to see Pelna has been trained in white magic,” he said dryly.

Movement behind Cor caught Nyx’s eye and they widened in horror as a dualhorn rushed out of the askew trees and knocked one of the vans off the cliff side, forcing the occupants to warp strike out to safety. It headed towards Cor who calmly summoned his katana and ran at it, slicing the beast in half. 

The clearing was silent as Cor wiped the blood away before banishing his blade to the armiger. “We need to move before reinforcements arrive,” he said calmly heading to the remaining van.

“Don’t dualhorns have a thick hide?” Pelna whispered to Nyx.

The ride to the haven was awkward, silent, and cramped. Cor openly glared at anyone who tried to speak even when they arrived at set up camp with what meager supplies they had that didn’t get destroyed in the other van. 

“Ok seriously enough with the dark broody silence!” Libertus barked out, crossing his arms over his chest. “What the hell happened on the cliff side?!”

Nyx glanced at Cor who rolled his eyes. “I’m a creature of the night and I sliced a dualhorn in half when it knocked the other van off the cliff,” he deadpanned.

Libertus huffed a laugh. “Right and I run on all fours during the full moon.” 

“I know.” 

Libertus scowled, trying not to look panicked. “I was—“

“Listen, let’s be open here,” Cor said holding his hands out placingly. “No one here is human. If the clearly edited field reports weren’t the dead giveaway, seeing him—“ Cor pointed at Pelna, “—hauling 24,000 ton cables 500 feet by himself was.”

“I had help,” Pelna grumbled weakly.

“And we’re really to believe you’re a vampire?” Axis said, glaring at him.

Cor stepped in the shadows and disappeared, reappearing behind Axis, who had been on the other side of the fire pit. “I don’t care if you do believe me or not, it’s who I am, so get used to it,” he shrugged, his lips twitching when Pelna took a flailing step back.

Crowe shrugged her coat off, cloak coming off with it. “Great, so now that that’s out of the way, let’s go Pelna, I refuse to break Glaive tradition just cause he’s here.”

Luche smirked, watching her yank Pelna along to the edge of the haven. “Exhibitionist.”

“Like you’re complaining,” Crowe snarked back, pulling Pelna’s shirt off.

Nyx watched as Cor’s face went from confused to pink. “Marshal.” he motioned with his head and Cor was quick to follow him. 

They walked until the noises from the haven faded and all they could hear was the quiet buzzing and chirping of the critters in the night. “So vampire huh? I’ve heard rumours of your folk but I don’t think I’ve met one before,” Nyx spoke up as the climbed up an outcropping of rocks that overlooked a small lake. Nyx carefully sat down, body still tender from getting shot multiple times.

 

Cor shrugged. “The Starscourge wiped most of us out over the last century, assuming we didn’t turn into mindless daemons.”

Nyx cringed, internally wondering if he may have accidentally slaughtered a friend or family member of Cor’s at some point in his life. 

Cor gave him a half smile, as if sensing his thoughts. “Relax, Lieutenant, anyone from my clan that I cared about died a long time ago.”

They spent the better part of the night reminiscing over the old days, Nyx having gotten up at some point to nick a couple bottles of beer Libertus had snuck into his bags.

“It just occurred to me,” Nyx said, watching the night sky lighten and become pink with the coming dawn, “Why would the Empire have sent that huge beast to defend that outpost? We aren’t near Gralea or any of the MT production facilities.”

Cor was quiet for a moment, staring at his empty beer bottle as if deciding whether to answer or not. “Besithia is trying to successfully combine the lycan DNA with sabertusk DNA in an effort to create a massive army. He picked those species specifically due to the lycan’s ability to infect humans without killing them and the sabertusk for their rapid reproduction and growth to adulthood.”

Nyx stared at Cor, horror and shock on his face. “Was there--”

Cor faced Nyx. “His Majesty sent me on a recon mission nearly two decades ago to check out rumours of genetic testing happening on a military scale. I infiltrated Zegnautus Keep and found several of Besithia’s pet projects. The lycan he captured was likely at death’s door for years and I put her to sleep  _ humanely _ .” Cor’s lip curled at the irony. “The missions we’ve been doing today are targeting outposts with any traces of that madman’s little god project. This is the one of the last outposts in Lucian territory where his latest project notes hint he was close to his goal.”

Nyx looked down at his clenched fists, dimly aware his claws had sunk into the meat of his palms. He flinched when he heard the sharp sound of glass objects clacking together and saw Cor holding a thin chain with unmistakable Galahdian beads threaded onto it.

“In all my time in Eos, I have never met a more proud group of people like the Galahdians. I couldn’t save that woman or bring her home for a proper funeral, but this was the least I could do,” Cor said, taking Nyx’s hand to make him accept the beads.

Nyx’s jawed clenched as he tried to find the right words as he stared at the purple bead his sister had given her betrothed shortly before she disappeared. “Thank you.” 

Cor frowned at him. “You’re upset.” He stated bluntly.

Nyx barked out a humourless laugh. “I’m a lot of things, Marshal. Grateful about this. Very few people outside the packs truly understand the significance of these beads to us.” He pointed to the largest of the beads. “This black one symbolizes the pack she was a part of. It would have been worn off her left ear.” He pointed to the smaller green and blue beads. “Each of these is a symbol of a successful solo hunt that would have been woven into her hair.” A muscle in his jaw twitched as he pointed to the last one, a purple, imperfect bead. “This one is personal and handmade. Depending on its significance to her, either it would have been hidden in her braids or worn proudly around her neck.”

“You knew her.”

“Mia,” Nyx said quietly. “My sister, Selena, was seeing someone and she refused to tell me who. Said she didn’t want me judging her for not being part of the local packs.” He ran his thumb over the bead. “I found out the pack she came from were traditionalists living on the outskirts of Galahd. they didn’t treat their omegas as equals and they loved to bully nearby packs for their resources.

“Naturally I was concerned. Selena was one of the few omegas in our pack and while she was seen as an adult in the eyes of our people , I didn’t want her to make a terrible mistake. I followed her one night, half to scare this woman off, half to see who had my sister so infatuated. They met for a picnic and that alpha treated her like royalty.” Nyx had a bittersweet smile on his face. “A real lady, kept her hands at Selena’s shoulders and immediately backed off when she didn’t want to go farther than cuddling. They both exchanged these beads with promises for their future together. But I wanted to be sure so I followed again, a few weeks later, soon after Selena had her heat. 

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one who followed, a couple of Mia’s knothead packmates followed her. I saw red, thinking she was a ruse to lure omegas from other packs away from safety, but before I could reach them, Mia had ripped their throats out. Might as well have burned her pack to the ground with that little maneuver. There was no way those alphas didn’t tell someone where they were going and that Mia wouldn't answer for their deaths. Selena had proverbial heart eyes looking at the bloodied woman who had defended her honour. I knew I’d be the worst kind of asshole to separate them. 

“I had stood between them and demanded if her pack knew about these little rendezvous, Selena was so pissed at me, but I needed to know. Mia clearly cared about my sister but I was the head alpha and I had our pack to worry about and the last thing I wanted to deal with was war with another pack. She swore this was the first they knew of anything and that she’d take care of it. I let Selena say goodbye before they parted ways. That was the last time we ever saw her. 

“A week went by before Selena convinced me to take Libertus to find out what happened to Mia. It took nearly a day to arrive and it still eats me up we didn’t leave sooner. Someone,” Nyx gestured in the direction of the destroyed outpost, “Had attacked them. We found a few survivors, babbling about warships carrying metal men. Said that those that weren’t shot had been taken alive captured.” He glared at the ground, eyes burning with unshed tears. “I wish I had listened to them, maybe I could have stopped or saved--”

Cor put a hand on his arm. “Stop. Don’t go there, Nyx. That line of thinking does no one any good. Think about Altius and Khara. Would those two have met and mated?” 

Nyx scrubbed at his eyes. “No, maybe, I don’t know.” 

Cor gave him a small smile. “I’ve seen their tattoos, they’re from different packs. C’mon, we’ve been up all night and you need sleep.” He stood, back cracking as he stretched.

Nyx scoffed at him but accepted his hand to get up. “You calling me old, old man?" 

Cor flashed him a grin, and at his close proximity Nyx could see canines he’d never noticed before. “To my people you’d be considered jailbait, kid.”

“I’m two and a half centuries old!” Nyx protested, following him back to the haven.

“Ah, to be so youthful,” Cor said wistfully, smirking when Nyx shoved him into a bush.

 

——

 

While they were eating breakfast, Cor perked up suddenly and held his hand out, a book appearing in the same blue magic as his katana did. He opened it where a page marker had been left and read for a moment before grabbing the pen tucked inside. He scribbled something down before making the book disappear. 

“So you’re a magical vampire?” Crowe asked after swallowing her mouthful of food.

Cor quirked an eyebrow at her. “No, just a vampire with access to His Majesty’s armiger,” he said picking up his can of Ebony.

“Sounds kinky, is Lord Amicitia aware of your nightly trysts?” Crowe asked innocently, causing the Marshal to choke on his drink, much to the amusement of the rest of the Glaives. Except Nyx. He found the idea of Cor sleeping with the king (even in jest) unsettling. He wasn’t sure why, either.

“What’d His Majesty want?” He asked instead, keeping his eyes on his food, missing the look Libertus and Pelna shared.

“He wanted an update, as I might have forgotten to do that last night,” Cor said, rolling his eyes when Tredd and Luche snickered. “Incredibly mature, you two.”

Tredd leaned into Luche. “We were fucking the heat outta Axis all night, it was great, who’s to say you two weren’t doing the same? I mean we couldn’t smell your undead ass for how many years?”

“That’s fair, but Cor was nothing but a complete gentleman,” Nyx said. “Kept his hands to himself on our first date. Can’t say the same for you two, though.” 

Luche smirked. “I didn’t hear you complaining, more like, ‘oh yeah, gimme that big dick, Luche’.” The group laughed as Nyx threw his breakfast sausage at Luche, cheeks pink.

 

\------

 

It had taken them over a week to arrive at the outpost by vans. So imagine the good moods dropping when Sonitus turned the key after they broke camp to hear the engine sputter and die. 

“What,” he growled, popping the hood and getting out to check it. Propping the hood up, he checked over the engine, swearing when he saw a hole along the side. “Damnit, Ulric, your little stunt sent shrapnel into the engine.”

Nyx got out of the van to see what Sonitus meant. “Shit, I don’t suppose anyone picked up a mechanics course over the last 4 years?” He sighed at the negative responses. “Worth a shot asking.”

Cor pulled his phone out, checking for cell reception, putting it away when he couldn’t find any. “Lestallum is a week’s hike away, we can get a new vehicle there.”

“You seriously expect us to walk there, Marshal?” Libertus said incredulously from the back of the van. “In this heat?!”

“No Glaive Ostium, I expect you to fly,” Cor deadpanned.

Nyx snickered, heading to the back to grab his bag. “Flap flap, let’s go Libs, daylights’ awastin’!”

 

\-----

 

With them not needing as much sleep as a human, they were able to cover more ground during the day. Cor, wanting to keep tempers level, sent their equipment and their uniforms to the armiger, though denied Luche his undergarments stating, “I’m not explaining to Lord Amicitia or Captain Drautos for that matter why the Marshal of the Crownsguard was seen wandering the Liede desert with a bunch of naked people. Keep your pants on, Lazarus.”

Crowe jogged beside Luche, her shirt tucked into the belt of her pants. “Well, if nothing else I can work on my base tan.”

Cor stared at her, jaw working as if trying to find a way to scold her without losing his head. “Problem, Marshal? She has her pants on,” Pelna said sweetly, fully aware of the Lucians general opinion about women’s bodies.

Cor pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh. “Keep moving, Khara.”

 

\----

 

They were two nights out from Lestallum when Nyx returned to the haven they were staying at, freshly filled water bottles in hand, to see Luche and Tredd whispering and looking in his direction. “Gentlemen,” He said, handing them their bottles back.

“So Luche and I were discussing the betting pool, the one specifically about you and your boy,” Tredd said, shifting to rest his head in Luche’s lap.

Nyx rolled his eyes, thanking Pelna, when the man gave him a bowl of soup with chunks of meat from the dualhorn they’d hunted earlier that day. “Do I want to know?”

“Well, your courting attempts are stilted at best. Crowe put down money the Marshal is never going to acknowledge your advances and Pelna put money down that the Marshal thinks you’re… what’s that Lucian word… heteroromantic?” Sonitus said, seated next to Luche’s other side sharpening his blade.

Axis smirked from his place near the fire, where he was making smoke rings from the skullcap joint he’d rolled. “Heterosexual.”

“I’ve heard that word before, what’s it mean?” Nyx asked, between mouthfuls of food. He felt like his courting was going fine, at least Cor seemed to appreciate the behemoth he single handedly took out two days ago, and the moss bed Nyx covered with his shirts so he could take a quick nap while Nyx stood guard the day before that.

“Means you strictly fuck ladies with pussies,” Axis said crudely.

Nyx blinked, setting his bowl down. He chugged his water to wash the spicy meat down before answering. “Uh I don’t? I mean, I’m not that level of picky?”

Luche shrugged. “We all know what you like but the Marshal seems to think otherwise.”

Nyx got up. “Right, well I know better than to take relationship advice from you knotheads.” 

“Oh c’mon we give great advice!” Tredd protested.

“You tried to convince poor Pelna that my sister was a lonely alpha,” Nyx accused them. 

Axis choked mid drag on his joint as he joined the others in their laughter. 

“Not our fault the kid has a poor sense of smell!” Luche grinned.

Nyx rolled his eyes. “Assholes.” He grabbed his bowl and headed to the wash station Pelna had set up. He washed his bowl and set it aside with the other clean bowls to dry.

His pack’s ribbing aside, he had to admit they had a point. He was treating the Marshal like he grew up with their customs and traditions. He returned to his spot and let their conversation wash over him, too lost in thought to chime in. He decided he’d put a hold to courting Cor until they got back to Insomnia where he could try to use Lucian customs to court the man.

When they arrived in Lestallum, Cor took them to the car rental place, where the young lady at the desk apologetically informed them that they wouldn’t have any available vehicles until the next day.

Cor returned to the group, who were hanging out by the fountain, and told them the news. “So what now?” Pelna asked from his spot on Crowe’s lap at the water fountain, which garnered more than one odd look from the locals walking by.

“Two options, we can wait until tomorrow for a rental, or we can continue on foot,” Cor said.

Tredd held his booted foot up where a monster had stabbed him through the steel part of his boot, leaving a gaping hole for his toes to wiggle through. “I vote to wait since your prudish Crownsguard will complain if I walk in barefoot.”

“But Tredd, think of the children!” Axis said in a falsetto voice.

Cor rolled his eyes at him. “And the rest of you?”

“I wouldn’t mind checking out their market to see what kinds of spices they have,” Libertus said gruffly.

“A night off would be nice,” Nyx said. “Haven or can we write a hotel off as an expense for the Captain to deal with?” 

“He’ll have a litter of coeurls if I book at the Levelle,” Cor said, smirking. “Night off it is.” 

Fortunately, the Levelle wasn’t booked up and Cor was able to secure three rooms for them. 

Nyx pouted when he tried to call dibs on the shower in the room he was sharing with Libertus and Cor, only to get a towel thrown in his face when Cor got there first, citing his seniority as a reason.  

Nyx went down to the reception desk to get them all spare towels and plain soap as he was sure the three rooms were not adequately stocked. As much as he loved the extended trip home, he really missed indoor plumbing. Removing beads and braids from his hair, he took the time to thoroughly scrub himself down. 

He got out a half hour later, using a towel to dry his hair while Libertus took his turn.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with your hair down,” Cor commented from the corner desk where he was doing paperwork of all bloody things.

 

Nyx shrugged as he set the towel aside and began re-braiding his hair. “I usually do it once a week before my shift starts to prevent matting but well, we’ve been a little busy.” 

Cor seemed fascinated when Nyx pulled a hook out to thread the smaller braids through his beads. Dropping the file he was working on into the armiger, Cor got up to get a closer look. “You have new beads,” he observed, sitting gingerly near Nyx on the bed.

Nyx refused to admit his heart nearly burst with joy hearing the man notice something like that. “Yeah, elders from the packs we saved four years ago gave these two to me for joining the Glaives to take the fight to Niflheim and coming home in relatively one piece.” He pointed to the bigger grey one at the top. “This one is from Pelna for blessing their union. Back home, it would have been expected that Pelna would have been mated to me because I’m stronger than Crowe. Our pack wasn’t as traditional as Mia’s, but some traditions just stick around.”

Cor looked utterly baffled. “Because he’s an omega?” He asked slowly, as if unsure that he was using the right terminology.

Nyx smiled, grabbing a piece of leather to weave into a bigger braid. “Yeah, it would have been expected of us to have a litter of pups after his first heat after our union.” He winced when he saw the wide-eyed look on Cor’s face.

“...Khara can get pregnant?!”

Libertus came out of the bathroom at that moment, steam following after him. “Nyx, you’re about to break the poor Marshal’s brain,” he scolded, though the smirk on his face belied the bite in his words.

Cor glared at Libertus, who smiled at him before taking a seat on the other bed, grabbing Nyx’s towel to dry his own hair.”Is there anyone else I should be worried about possibly getting pregnant during your post battle… activities?”

“Axis can, but I wouldn’t worry your pretty head, Marshal,” Libertus said, “You Lucians ain’t the only ones who discovered birth control and both of them are good about taking theirs.”

“What about Crowe?”

Nyx snorted. “Only an alpha can get another alpha pregnant and let’s be real, she only has eyes for Pelna.”

“Huh. Right. We need ice.” And with that, Cor left the room, the door not closing all the way.

“Oh no,” Nyx said, staring after him.

Libertus made a noise in the back of his throat. “He’s a big boy, Nyx, he’ll get over it.”

Libertus was finishing off his braid when Crowe poked her head in the room. “Hey, the others wanted to go out dancing for a few hours, did you three want to join?”

Libertus shrugged at Nyx. “Sure.” 

“I’ll ask the Marshal when he gets back with ice,” Nyx said.

“Cool, we’re meeting in the lobby at 2100 hours,” Crowe said, before disappearing. 

Unsurprisingly, Cor returned empty handed, but seemed much more collected. “The pack wants to go dancing tonight, did you want to join us?”

Cor opened his mouth with an immediate response but seemed to pause for a moment before saying, “Sure.” 

Libertus blinked and gave the man a grin. “Got that stick outta yer arse, eh?”

“Watch your mouth, Ostium,” Cor warned the same time Nyx scolded, “Language, Libertus!” 

Libertus snorted at them. “Yes Dads.” He gave them a sloppy salute, before leaving, muttering something about getting food.

Nyx rolled his eyes but couldn’t help noticing Cor’s face make a strange spasm. Deciding he had overwhelmed the Marshal enough, he muttered about taking a nap.

 

——

 

The group wandered the streets of Lestallum for nearly half an hour before they found a club that didn’t hurt their ears.

They found a booth to claim near the dance floor and Crowe was quick to haul Pelna to the dance floor, Axis, Sonitus, and Tredd following after them. They ordered drinks, not that the human concoctions would get any of them drunk. Nyx tossed his shot back before he decided to let loose and got up to dance near his pack, Luche joining him. 

He missed the look Luche and Tredd shared and suddenly felt Luche press up along his back, hands resting at his hips. “Put on a good show, Alpha, and maybe I’ll fuck you later,” Luche said in his ear, biting the lobe.

“Fuck off, Luche,” Nyx groaned, though despite his words he leaned into him, his cock twitching with interest. His dancing quickly went from innocent to lewd as he grounded and rolled his ass into the brunet. He shivered, reach up and back to sink his fingers into Luche’s soft hair as the man ran his elongated canines along Nyx’s neck. 

Nyx was startled out of his thoughts of cutting the night short to take Luche back to the hotel, when he felt a new pair of hands on his hips. He opened his eyes to see Cor standing before him. Nyx felt entranced staring into the Marshal’s eerily bright blue eyes as the world around them slipped away. He let go of Luche to loosely wrap his arms around Cor’s shoulders.

“Was that little display meant to make me jealous?” Cor murmured. Or at least Nyx thought he murmured it, which was odd given how loud the music was playing, but his voice sounded like it was in his head.

“Unintentionally,” Nyx said honestly, fingers toying with the short hairs at the nap of Cor’s neck. He didn’t notice Luche slipping away. “Not going to lie, I’m kind of thrilled it worked, was worried you weren’t interested.” He pressed his head to Cor’s.

“I am,” Cor said, his hands sliding down to Nyx’s ass as if to prove his point, if the arousal reeking from him wasn’t obvious. “Have been since I first saw you in the throne room. But I wasn’t sure if you were single or interested back. A uh, helpful advisor informed me recently.”

Nyx bit his lip, his cock now straining against the zipper of his pants. “Wanna take this somewhere private? I got a room at the Levelle,” he wiggled his eyebrows. 

Cor for his part laughed. “You’re terrible,” he said stepping back.  

Suddenly the world around them came crashing back and Nyx flinched, not used to such mind games being used against him. He waved a hand at Cor’s apology and grabbed his hand, leading him out of the club.

“Not going to tell your pack where you’re going?” Cor mused.

Nyx snorted. “They’re aware and likely sorting out their betting pool. So who was the secret advisor letting you in on our mystical courting habits?”

“Libertus.”

Nyx’s eyebrows rose. “Really? I figured Pelna would tell you.” He had not seen that coming, given the standoffish approach his best friend had where the Marshal was concerned.

“And I quote, ‘that idiot has it bad for you, so either let him down now or start reciprocating. And if you don’t treat him right I’ll serve your balls to a flock of daggerquill’.” Cor deadpanned as they entered the lobby and got into the elevator.

Nyx laughed, wrapping an arm around Cor to pull him in close. “I’m touched. And I have no doubt you’ll treat me well.” 

Cor gave him a half smile, leaning in only to pull back when the elevator dinged at their floor. They got off and hurried down the hall to their room. Nyx shut the door behind them and hummed softly when Cor pressed him up against it. Cor seemed uncertain for a moment, almost shy until Nyx took initiative and kissed him. 

 

For all the rushing they did to get upstairs, the kiss went slow. Nyx ran his hands along Cor’s sides to his back, sighing happily against his lips, tongue peeking out to toy with Cor’s playfully. Nyx rolled his hips into Cor’s and pushed away from the door awkwardly walking them towards the nearest bed. He released him from the kiss and twisted and pulled Cor with him onto the bed, grunting when all two hundred plus pounds of vampire landed on him. “Okay that was a questionable idea,” he said breathlessly, wiggling to get higher up the bed.

Cor smiled and kneeled up to let him move before settling on his hips. “Isn’t that most of your ideas, Ulric?” 

Nyx rested his hands on Cor’s hips, thumbs rubbing the skin that was exposed from Cor’s shirt being hiked up. “Rude, most of my ideas are fantastic.” 

“Whatever helps you sleep better,” Cor said, removing Nyx’s hands to lace their fingers together. He gently pressed them to either side of Nyx’s head, confident Nyx could handle his weight as he leaned down to kiss him again. 

Nyx hissed when Cor’s fang cut his bottom lip. Cor pulled back, face stricken that he’d harmed Nyx until his nostrils flared. Nyx’s erection twitched in his pants as Cor lengthened his fangs.

“Holy Ramuh, I have never been more excited to say 'bite me' in my life than right now,” Nyx said, rocking up into Cor for friction.

Cor laughed and it was music to Nyx’s ears. “Would it shut you up if I did?” He asked, grinding his hips down, his hands tightening to keep Nyx from trying to grab him.

Nyx moaned, arching against him. “Get down here and find out—hngh!” Fireworks went off in his head as Cor leaned down and sunk his teeth into his shoulder. The last time Nyx felt like he floating in a state of euphoria he and Libertus had accidentally eaten dried psychedelic herbs.

 

This was so much better.

It felt like something was tugging on his shoulder and he gradually came back down. 

When he opened his eyes (when did they close??), Cor was curled along his right side and there was a dull throbbing feeling in his left shoulder. “S’happening?” He slurred, trying to get his bearings. He blinked a few times and stared for a moment at the bottle held to his lips before his brain he registered he was suppose to drink.  

“Drink slow,” Cor instructed. His voice sounded like honey. All gooey and warm.

“Does it? People usually say I sound like an asshole.”

“Shit that was out loud.” He groaned, stretching. He winced when his pants stuck to his groin. “Did I seriously—?!”

Cor hummed shifting against him like a big content cat. “Yeah, you tasted so much better after you came.” 

It was an odd thing to ask but Nyx’s curiosity was piqued. “And, uh, what did I taste like before that?”

“Gamey, not quite like a behemoth but close. And earthy.” 

Nyx shifted his arm so it was under Cor’s head. He pulled him in for a lazy kiss, moaning quietly when he tasted iron on his tongue. “Wait, what about you?” 

Cor’s cheeks went pink. “If the person I’m biting is having an orgasm I can feed off the energy and come as well,” he muttered, avoiding Nyx’s eyes. 

Nyx grinned and pulled him into another kiss. “If orgasms with our clothes on feels this great, I can’t wait to get your dick in me!”

“Fucking Lycans and their sex drives,” Cor mock complained, allowing Nyx to pull him on top again.

 

——-

 

Cor eyed the four vehicles before him. Two sports cars, a station wagon, and a truck.

“Pelna will happily suck your dick if you pick both those beauties,” Crowe said next to him. 

“I will what now?!” 

“Take one for the team, Khara!” Tredd said, ruffling his hair. 

“The hell?! Make Axis do it!” Pelna protested.

“No offense to the Marshal, but he ain’t my type,” Axis growled, crossing his arms.

“If you lot don’t shut it, we’re taking the station wagon!” Libertus glared at them.

Nyx walked up to Cor, ignoring their team mate’s (quieter) bickering. “There’s reports of Imperial dropships in the area,” He whispered to him, “Likely looking for us. So we’re going to need speed but the windows on those cars aren’t going to handle us jumping out, never mind the space constraints. Nine adults split between two cars won’t cut it if we need to go on the defensive.”

Cor looked at the newer model truck, where the box was lined with hand rails that even went up along the cab, and on the floor of the box was a steel case likely for tool storage. Sturdy but would likely be easy to stab with a thrown kukri.

“Howdy, need any help with finding a rental, handsome?” A curvy young woman with a flirty smile approached them, her eyes running over Cor with appreciation. 

Oblivious to the man bristling beside him, Cor nodded. “Do hunters routinely use this truck?”

“Yes! She’s sturdy and fast. Faster than the SRT series. The Charger purrs like a kitten though,” she winked, pointing to the red car.

Nyx linked his arm with Cor’s. “Lovely, we’ll take both, that’ll be more than enough room for the kids, right dear?”

Cor blinked at him in surprise. “Uh, right. Let’s get the paperwork signed, we need to be on the road soon.”

Nyx openly glared at her before letting go of Cor so the man could get the keys from her. He rolled his eyes at his pack, who were doing a piss poor job hiding their laughter at him.

“So, when is Cor taking you to The Hedge to make a proper alpha outta you?” Crowe teased, poking his arm.

“By the Six shut up, I don’t know where that came from,” he groaned, rubbing his face.

Fortunately, with a little royal persuasion, they were able to secure both vehicles within the hour. Cor and Sonitus drove them to the outskirts of Lestallum before pulling over.  

“We’ve got reports of dropships in the area,” Cor said once they all gathered outside the vehicles and dressed in their gear. “Our route is to head to Hammerhead to refuel then straight to Insomnia. If all goes well we’ll make it by sundown. So, Glaive Khara, you’re driving the truck. Glaives Lazarus, Ulric, and Furia you’ll be in the truck box to provide defense and offensive coverage as you see fit. Altius, Ostium, and Arra with me.” 

He looked at Sonitus, summoning a massive machine gun from the armiger that looked like it had been scavenged off a downed Imperial warship. “Get this thing strapped to the back of the truck. It’s been modified with Lucian magic so don’t worry about ammo storage, just aim right.”

Sonitus whistled looking it over. “The kickback from this thing is going to wreck the truck.”

“Then use it sparingly, Glaive Atlius the car is going to need cover,” he said handing her a summoned harness with tie straps. 

She looked at the harness and back at the car. “Oh hell no, you are outta your mind, Marshal!”

 

\----

 

“Your boyfriend is a deadman, Ulric!” Crowe growled over the comms, from where she was seated on the trunk door, straps looping through the passenger doors to keep her in place as the car raced at high speeds down the road.

“He’s not my boyfriend, Crowe,” Nyx said rolling his eyes, grip tightening on the rails when Pelna swerved to avoid a nasty looking pothole. “How about you tell _your_ boyfriend to watch where he’s driving!” 

“Sorry, Nyx.”

“You’re doing great sweetie, ignore the knothead,” Crowe crooned to Pelna.

They made it to Hammerhead in the later afternoon before Axis spotted dropships on the horizon. “Great, gives us enough time to fuel up,” Nyx said, hanging the fuel handle up. He walked into the store to pay. Getting a receipt, he thanked the cashier and left, looking around to see where Cor had wandered off to.

“So you’re the fella that has Cor Leonis all twitterpated.” Nyx looked towards the garage to see a blonde mechanic woman approaching stinking of various kinds of motor oils. He idly hoped she didn’t work on vehicles with that amount of cleavage showing.

“Pardon?” Nyx looked confused. 

“Twitterpated, exasperates Paw-Paw with how much he talks about you during their weekly dinners,” She said, casually holding a wrench against her shoulder.

“Er, right, uh do you know where the Marshal went? We’re kinda running short on daylight.” He was curious about what the hell Cor was talking about during these dinners but his attention was focused on the dropships getting closer.

“In the garage with Paw-Paw." 

“Wonderful, thank you Miss--” He froze when the wrench was pointed at his throat.

Her voice went hard. “Treat that boy right, I don’t much care what sort of supernatural blood runs in them veins, I’ll tear your intestines outta your nostrils and put your head on a pike, ya hear?” Nyx stared at the small woman before him, deciding she was pretty serious about that threat.

A rough voice interrupted him from calmly defending himself. “Cindy, that boy causin’ you trouble?”

They both turned to see Cor standing with an elderly gentleman, likely Paw-Paw. “Not at all, Paw-Paw, just lettin’ him know where Mr. Leonis was,” She said, her voice swiftly returning to sweet and warm.

“Glaive Ulric let’s go!” Cor called.

“Nice meeting you, Miss Cindy,” Nyx muttered.

“Oh Mr Ulric?” Nyx paused. “I know many of your country folk have been making the journey to Insomnia and I don’t blame them, but could you remind them stealing is frowned upon in these parts?”

Nyx gave her an odd look. “Did you get a good look at who did it?”

She shook her head. “Blond little waif, actually left here a few hours before y’all arrived, ya might see his caravan on your way.”

Nyx was a little distressed at the idea of Galahdian refugees potentially getting caught in the crossfire with the Nifs headed their way. “Right, I’ll take care of it, send us a list of what was stolen.” He jumped onto the back of the truck as it rolled up.

“What was that about?” Luche asked next to him. 

Nyx tapped his comms. “Miss Cindy has informed me we may come across a refugee caravan, so keep your eyes peeled.”

The ride was quiet and tense as the four in the box of the truck watched the Dropships creep closer. “Wait, you see that?” Tredd spoke up. “Dropship on the right, it’s diverting.” They watched as the dropship seemed to descend and hover for a moment before returning to keep course with the other four.

“Wonder what it saw,” Nyx said, grimly hoping against hope it wasn’t the caravan Cindy was talking about.

They had just passed through the charred remains of an outpost at the cliff’s edge when the dropships were close enough to began firing at them. Sonitus took aim and shot the farthest dropship, the kickback from the gun causing Pelna to fight to keep the truck steady.

“Holy shit, ok please don’t do that again,” Pelna gasped over the comms. “Or at least warn me first.”

“Keep your panties on, Khara,” Sonitus growled, cocking the gun and adjusting his position to take aim. “Taking aim, firing!” Pelna had better control this time as Sonitus took out another dropship. One of the remaining ships opened it’s cargo doors and troops began firing at them. 

“Shit!” Nyx summoned a shield over the truck, stopping the hail of bullets from hitting them.

Sonitus took them out, the Glaives in the truck freezing when they heard the poor vehicle make an ominous grinding noise.

“No more shots, Bellum, or you’ll destroy the truck!” Pelna yelled.

Tredd patted Nyx arm. “Right, that’s our cue.” They, Sonitus, and Luche made quick work of warp striking to the nearest dropship, acting as distractions while Sonitus tossed a few grenades into the engine before the group moved onto the last ship, the one behind them exploding and veering off into a cliffside. The impact set off a landslide that headed right for the speeding vehicles. 

“ _ PELNA NO!! _ ” 

The Glaives on the dropship watched in horror as the landslide knocked the truck off the road and down the side of the canyon. Snarling, they made quick work of taking down the last ship, warping away to safety as it exploded in the air.

Cor pulled the car to a stop as Crowe literally tore the harness off her shifting body as fur sprouted out where her uniform was ripping from her body bulking up. Nyx and Libertus went after her down the to the wreckage, only to be stopped when a spray of bullets hit their feet. 

“Fuck! They just keep coming!” Libertus snarled as Nyx threw a shield up. Three more ships appeared in the canyon. Crowe howled her rage as a stray bullet nicked her arm and she took off, the MTs at the guns unable to keep up with her speed as she used the canyon walls to launch herself through the window of one of the dropship’s cockpits. While she wrecked havoc in there, Nyx ordered the others to attack the other two ships, sighing in annoyance when another set of ships arrived. Their fire power kept the Glaives from getting anywhere near the wreckage Pelna was in, for fear of him getting hit. 

When the last ship went down in flames, Crowe stalked towards the wreckage of the truck only to get blown back when the gas tank exploded. “ _ NO!! _ Pelna!”

“ _ There are six more dropships headed here, we need to leave now! _ ” Cor ordered over the comms.

Nyx tossed Crowe over his shoulder, a hand on her ankles to keep her from digging her clawed toes into his chest as he and the rest of the pack ran up to the canyon ledge where Cor was. He sent his katana to the armiger and started running, Nyx’s question about where the car was being answered when they ran by said vehicle with a boulder sitting on the crushed roof. 

“Luche grab Cor!” Nyx yelled as the new wave of dropships began firing at them. They used evasive maneuvers to warp closer to the Citadel gates, which were already open. Nyx would have found that odd if he wasn’t busy avoiding getting shot. “This is Lieutenant Glaive Ulric of the 2nd Lucian Kingsglaive Division requesting immediate cover. We are coming in hot!” 

“ _ ID confirmed, West Gate supplying immediate coverage, standby. _ ”

Missile launchers on the physical portion of the wall fired at the dropships, the gates to the city shutting as the explosions brushed up against the barrier. 

The pack collapsed into a heap, physically and magically drained from running and warping nearly seventy kilometres to safety.

“Pelna?”

“Crowe wait,” Nyx sat up trying to grab her, as she stood up, her uniform in tatters hanging off her human form.

“Holy shit, Ulric he’s right there!” Luche pointed to the stretcher where their presumed dead pack mate was lying.

Nyx stumbled to his feet and followed after her, letting Cor wrangle the group of Crownsguard from getting too close to Crowe as she checked him over. “How, what?”

“Pelna? Baby, can you hear me?” Her hands shook as she gently grabbed his.

“...rowe?” Pelna croaked, his hand briefly tightening on hers before he passed out.

Crowe snarled at anyone who got close as she followed the medics into the ambulance that fortunately arrived swiftly. Libertus joined her to make sure nothing bad happened.

“How did Glaive Khara get in here?” Cor demanded.

“Some fuckin’ beastie ‘ad him and the gates malfunctioned, popped right open! Thing walked in like it owned the place, dropped ‘im and ran down the road!” A guard exclaimed. 

Their comms crackled with Lieutenant Monica Elshett’s voice speaking up. “Marshal, I have an escort arriving to take you and your team to the Citadel for recovery and debrief.”

“Copy that.” Cor looked at the guard who had spoken up. “What’s the search status on the monster?” 

“Crownsguards Fortis and Lycus ‘ave their teams sweepin’ the west side of the city with Crownsguard Nox providin’ surveillance sweeps to update them on its movements. They ‘ave it cornered in the Nif district, Sir.” 

“I don’t want casualties and someone figure out how this gate opened,” he ordered as a large tinted, black van arrived to pick the Glaive team up. 

 

\------

 

Prompto jumped over a fence, his skinny legs threatening to buckle under him as he weaved through the noisy streets. He froze when he heard the familiar heavy footsteps approaching the the exit of the alley he was in and he darted through a broken door, hiding behind a worn out armchair startling the old man who was sitting in it.

“What in tarnation?!” The man peered around the side to see Prompto’s scared humanoid face staring back at him.

“P-P-Please halp,” he whispered in broken Lucian.

A loud knock at the door took the old man’s attention to the Crownsguard entering his home.

“What the hell are you doing in here?!” He demanded, struggling to get to his feet, “I paid my fines now out!”

“Calm down old man, we’re looking for a monster, long legged, yellow fur--”

“Aye, he went through my kitchen window!” The old man interrupted, waving his cane at them. “Now git! Scram!”

The old man wobbled to his door and slammed it shut after the guards left, scraps of wood falling off. He propped a chair against the rusted handle and turned to face his arm chair. “Well? C’mon out, sonny.”

Prompto shakily stood up, matted fur falling to the dirty carpet as he returned to his human form. Well, mostly human form. The old man’s eyes widened. “Sorry, sorry!” Prompto babbled, long ears pinned to his head, his shaking hands held up as he tried to back away to the kitchen, “I leave, no harm, sorry!”

“Stop.” Prompto froze. He hadn’t heard his Mother tongue since… “You’re one of them poor souls from the Genesis Project, right?”

Prompto watched warily as the old man approached him and gently took his right hand, tapping the cloth tied around his wrist. “You got one of them barcodes tattooed here?”

“Yes sir.” He whispered.

“Relax, you’re safe here, son. Let’s get you washed up and into some clothes, okay? Get you some food and get you in touch with someone who can help you settle in.”

“I-I snuck in, though,” Prompto said, but regardless followed him down the hall, his stomach cramping at the mention of food. “They, the Lucians, they won’t be happy.”

“Those fucks ain’t ever happy,” the old man snarked, flipping an old light on in the bathroom. He turned the faucet on to fill the tub and went to his room, grabbing a grey shirt and sweatpants from the dresser. He set the clothes down on the sink and waited for the tub to fill before turning it off. “Wash up and get these on, don’t need ya getting sick. Call if you need help.” 

“Thank you sir,” Prompto said quietly as the old man left, shutting the door. He gingerly stuck a toe into the water, blinking when he discovered the water was warm, not freezing like the lakes and streams he’d been accustomed to washing up in were. He sunk into the water and laid for a while, delighted feeling the warmth seeping into his skin. He wiped the grim off his skin, accidentally knocking a white bar that was sitting on the edge of the tub into the water. He fished it out of the water and blinked when the bar left residue on his hand. He rubbed his hands together and was delighted when bubbles formed.

Which was how the old man found him an hour later, the surface of the grimy bath water and Prompto covered in suds. “C’mon kid, out before you prune,” he said gruffly, holding a worn towel out. He wrapped Prompto in it. “Get dry and dressed, food’s ready.” He said leaving. 

Now that Prompto wasn’t distracted playing with the bar, he could smell something delicious. So delicious his stomach cramped painfully. He hurriedly got dressed and left the bathroom. Freezing when he saw another person in the tiny home.

“Kid, this here’s Loqi.”

“Hey-- my goddess you’re tiny, how old are you?!”

Prompto shrugged, his eyes on the bowl Loqi was holding.

Loqi blinked and realised what he was staring at. “Ah, sorry kid, here, something light, you look like you haven’t eaten in a while.” 

Prompto accepted the bowl of broth and eagerly swallowed it down. As well as the chunk of bread offered. He handed Loqi the bowl back and sat down behind the armchair. The old man busied himself in the kitchen while Loqi sat near Prompto.  

“So what’s your name, kid?”

Prompto looked at him confused. “My designation?”

Loqi shook his head. “No, haven’t you given yourself a name?”

“Oh, uh Prompto? I was following hunters last winter and they kept telling their chocobos  _ prompto prompto! _ ”

Loqi laughed softly. “I think you mean pronto. But Prompto suits you.” He smiled. He held his hand out. “Can I see your tattoo?”

Prompto hesitated for a moment before revealing the black ink under the dirty cloth. Loqi examined it for a moment before his eyes widened. “You’re barely ten years old, how the hell did you make the journey from Gralea here?!” 

Prompto flinched at the mention of the city of cold air and metal gears. “There was an explosion, a bunch of us ran through the broken walls, but not many of us made it to the forest and I lost track of everyone when I left the forest.” He wrapped his wrist back up and yawned, the excitement of the day finally catching up to him. “I hope that man is ok, he seemed so injured.” He murmured, curling up. 

Loqi grabbed a throw pillow and a knitted blanket from the couch to cover the sleeping child. He tucked him in and stood up, arms crossing over his chest as he joined the old man in the kitchen. “Rumours are spreading like wildfire across the city of a monster breaking into the city,” he said quietly. “Noah, he can’t leave here until we get his papers forged and signed.”

“I know, I know,” the old man sighed, leaning heavily on his cane. “I’ll call Celcius in the morning to get it started. S’too late now, might draw attention.”

Loqi growled quietly under his breath, the skin on his face rippling with the effort to hide his form. “I told the Marshal’s lapdogs what was happening over twenty years ago, why the hell is Besithia’s project still active?!” 

“Dunno kid, but His Majesty had best get it together or he’ll have two fronts to fight in this war.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> So I have notes written for more! I'm hoping I can get some written while waiting for the bus to work this week! Thanks for giving it a read! ^_^ come shout at me on [twitter](https://twitter.com/moggiye20)!


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